Lynch supports Obama’s unconstitutional amnesty, believes illegal immigrants should have the same rights to employment as American citizens, opposes voter ID laws, advocates federal intrusion in local law enforcement under the guise of civil rights, supports the government taking private property on flimsy grounds, and offers no opposition to using drones against American citizens.

I agree with some of these concerns, but the one in bold is a real head scratcher. What theory of free markets do Conservatives hold that accepts as valid the government licensing of labor? On what possible grounds should a government bar me from hiring, say, a Russian immigrant to do my programming? Or crazier still, why can I hire a Mexican in my Mexico office but can't have the same person working for me in my Phoenix office?

I have a theory about the Romans that is probably shared by nobody. The Romans were strong and powerful and vital when they were creating a variety of citizenship types to accommodate multiple peoples who entered the empire in multiple ways. In particular I think of civitas sine suffragio or citizenship without the vote. But this was just one of many variations. By the first century AD (or CE per the modern academic trend), a lot of people of a lot of cultures and races and over a wide geography called themselves Romans.

By the end of the empire, the "reforms" of Diocletian and Constatine purged all flexibility from both governance and the economy (in sum, their laws amounted to the Directive 10-289 of the ancient world). By the time the Empire started falling apart, they had lost all ability to integrate new peoples or innovate with citizenship models. What was eventually called the Barbarian invasions began decades earlier as the attempted barbarian migrations. The barbarians wanted to just settle peacefully. And Rome desperately needed them -- their system was falling apart as their farms and countryside was depopulated from a combination of government policy and demographic collapses (e.g. plagues). Rome desperately needed new people to settle their farms and form the new backbone of the army and the barbarians desperately wanted to settle and had a lot of military skill, but they couldn't make it work.

A 2013 press statement on the Institute for Justiceâs website described Brantleyâs frustration with the criteria: âThis means that Isis must spend 2,250 hours in barber school, pass four exams, and spend thousands of dollars on tuition and a fully-equipped barber college she doesnât need, all to teach a 35-hour hair-braiding curriculum,â the statement read.

U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks on Monday seemed to agree with Brantleyâs concerns that the requirements for hair-braiding entrepreneurs were superfluous. Sparks ruled that the Texas laws were unconstitutional and âabsentâ a rational connection with Brantleyâs intended marketplace, the Associated Press reports.

âI fought for my economic liberty because I believe there is a lot of hope for young people who seek to earn an honest living,â Brantley said in a press statement. âThis decision means that I will now be able to teach the next generation of African hair braiders at my own school.â

Good. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a way to fight these stupid licensing laws except one at a time, state by state. And every time we take one on, the incumbent competitors in that business (who are the primary beneficiaries of licensure that restricts new competition) fight tooth and nail every step of the way.

I will observe that red states are just as bad as blue states on occupational licenses. This is cronyism, not ideology. From this site, here are just a few the occupational licenses one still needs in Texas (this is from a school web site, so these are just the ones that have continuing education requirements that this school serves). I suspect that this list is incomplete, as long as it is, because barbers and hair stylists, the subject of this case, are not even on the list.

LICENSED OCCUPATIONS IN TEXAS

Continuing Education Requirements

Licensed Occupations

License

Continuing Education Requirements to Renew

Accountants & Auditors

Certified Public Accountant

Annual CEUs Ethics-2hrs/yr

Acupuncturist

Acupuncturist

17 hours CAE/yr

Heating, A/C, & Refrigeration Mechanics & Installers

A/C & Refrigeration Contractor

Voluntary continuing education

Architect

Architect

8 CEPH/year

Athletic Trainer

Athletic Trainer

30 clock hours/ 3 years

Judges and Magistrates

Attorney

15 CLE hours/year inc. 3 hrs. ethics

Combative Sports Promoter

Boxing Promoter

Voluntary continuing education

Child Care Administrator

Child Care Administrator

15 hours for biennial renewal

Chiropractors

Chiropractor

16 hours/year

Compliance Officers

Code Enforcement Officer

to be required; rules in development

Counselors, Chemical Dependency

Chemical Dependency Counselor

If also licensed as LMSW, LMFT,LPC, physician, or
psychologist-24 hours CE/2yrs.
If not otherwise licensed, 60 hours.
All hours specific to or related to chemical dependency.

Counselor, Professional

Counselor, Professional

12 hours/year inc. 3 hours ethics or legal issues every other yr.

Dental Hygienists

Dental Hygienist

12 hours/year

Dentists

Dentist

12 hours/year

Dietitians and Nutritionists

Dietitian

6 clock hours/year

Drinking Water Utility Plant Operator

Certificate Classes 1-3

1-2 courses in water conditioning

Emergency Medical Technicians

Emergency Medical Technician

Varies by level: see below

Emergency Care Attendants (ECA)

20 contact hours CE/2yrs; 40 hours within 4/yr cert. period

Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT)

40 contact hours CE/2yrs; 80 hours within 4/yr cert. period

EMT-Intermediates (EMT-1)

60 contact hours CE/2 yrs; 120 hours within 4/yr cert. period

EMT-Paramedics (EMT-P)

80 contact hours CE/2 yrs; 160 hours within 4/yr cert. period

Engineers

Professional Engineer

None required

Fire Fighters

Fire Protection Personnel/Firefighter

20 hrs CE/year

Fire Inspectors

Fire Protection System Contractor

None found

Funeral Directors & Morticians

Funeral Director/Embalmer

20 hrs/yr; required 2 hrs-law updates; 2-ethics; 2-vital stats

Salespersons, Retail

Hearing Instrument Fitter/Dispenser

20 hrs/yr

Insurance Adjusters, Examiners, & Investigators

Insurance Adjuster

30 hrs/2yrs, including 2 hrs/ethics (Most licensees)

Sales Agents & Placers, Insurance

Insurance Agent

15 hours CE/yr

Interior Designers

Interior Designer

8 hrs/yr

Interpreter

Interpreter for the Deaf

75 hrs/5 yrs.

Construction-Irrigator

Irrigator, Landscape

8 hours/yr

Surveyors and Mapping Scientists

Land Surveyor

8 hrs/yr

Landscape Architects

Landscape Architect

8 CEPH/year (CE Program Hrs) TBAE

Police Detectives

Law Enforcement Officer

40 hrs/2 yrs Currently in 4 yr cycle

Librarians, Professional

Librarian, County

Grades II & III (valid for two years)

3 semester hrs at accredited college
or 20 hrs other continuing education activities

Grade I (permanent)

Marriage & Family Therapist

Marriage & Family Therapist

15 hrs/yr; 3 hrs ethics every 3 yrs.

Massage Therapist

Massage Therapist

6 clock hrs/yr

Medical Scientists

Medical Physicist, Professional

24 contact hours/2 years

Radiologic Technologists

Medical Radiologic Technologist, General

24 hours/2 years

Limited Certificate

12 hours/2 years

Nursing Aides, Orderlies, & Attendants

Midwife, Direct Entry

10 hours CE /yr

Licensed Practical Nurses

Nurse, Licensed Vocational (LVN)

20 contact hours (2 CEUs)/2 yrs

Registered Nurses

Nurse, Registered (RN)

20 contact hours (2 /CEUs)/2 yrs

Nurse Aide, Long Term Care

none found

Medicine & Health Services Managers

Nursing Facility Administrator

40 hours CE/ 2 yrs

Occupational Therapists

Occupational Therapist

30 hrs/2 yrs.

Occupational Therapist Assistant

30 hrs/2yrs

On-Site Sewage Facility

Designated Representative

16 hrs/yr

Installer Class I

16 hrs/yr

Installer Class II

16 hrs/yr

Opticians, Dispensing & Measuring

Optician

5 hrs/yr for voluntarily registered opticians

Optometrists

Optometrist

sixteen hours of continuing education/ year inc.
six hours in diagnostic or therapeutic education